Professional Profile

Mr Modi is one of only a handful of surgeons in the UK who regularly performs minimally invasive mitral valve surgery.

He was trained in Cardiothoracic Surgery in the UK, US and Germany, and is on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council (GMC no 4125879). Mr Modi has one of the largest practices of minimally invasive mitral valve repair / replacement in the UK, and is the only British heart surgeon formally trained in robotic mitral valve repair.

Minimally techniques provide a huge number of benefits for patients such as minimal scarring, less pain and a reduced chance of post-operative wound infections, and they shorten the recovery period from open-heart surgery from about 3 months down to about 3 weeks.

Paul graduated from Leeds University medical school in 1994 and four years later became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He then spent two years as a British Heart Foundation research fellow at Bristol University culminating in the award of the prestigious Doctorate in Medicine in 2003 for original research looking at ways of better protecting children’s hearts during open-heart surgery.

He was trained in Cardiothoracic Surgery in the UK and then spent 12 months as a Clinical Instructor (consultant) in the US working alongside Dr Randolph Chitwood Jr at East Carolina Heart Institute learning the techniques of minimally invasive and robotic cardiac valvular surgery and atrial fibrillation surgery.

This is where Paul really developed his passion for keyhole heart surgery because it was immediately obvious to him how much quicker patients recovered compared to conventional sternotomy surgery where the front of the chest is opened. He then went on to do further super-specialist training in minimally invasive valve and coronary surgery (MIDCABs) and thoracoscopic AF surgery in Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands.On returning to the UK, Mr Modi brought many of the pioneering techniques he had learned overseas back to the NHS. With the advent of Patient Choice, patients can now choose their heart surgeon and be treated by those offering less invasive surgery. His philosophy is to provide the same surgical excellence to his patients as those treated in the major North American and German centres, such as the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic. Mr Modi also teaches surgical skills and basic sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and trains other consultants on best teaching practices. Mr Modi practices both in the NHS and privately.

His philosophy is to provide the same surgical excellence to his patients as those treated in the major North American and German centres

In The Media

See Mr Modi live on the One Show with Chris Evans and Jessie J and watch a patient's remarkable recovery from keyhole heart valve surgery.

Me and my operation: The deep-freeze operation to fix a dicky heartbeat

Private healthcare coverage of minimally invasive valve surgery.

Bridal joy of medic who spotted she had tumour in run-up to wedding

Me and my operation: keyhole heart valve op has you back on your feet in days